Rewrite - Hermione Granger, the girl who lived
by Drake Azure Saber
Summary: The title kind of drops the bomb really, just know that in this tale there is no Dark Lord. No, he isn't non-existent, let's just say there's someone else at the helm of evil this time round. There's no mystery as to who, as I think we all know who Hermione (and Molly Weasley, wink wink) hate beyond compare in book 7. Bit more info inside, ain't enough room in the summary block.
1. Chapter 1, The Atrium

Rewrite – Hermione Granger, the girl who lived

Summary: The title kind of drops the bomb really, just know that in this tale there is no Dark Lord. No, he isn't non-existent, let's just say there's someone else at the helm of evil this time round. There's no mystery as to who, as I think we all know who Hermione (and Molly Weasley, wink wink) hate beyond compare in book 7. I will say this though, the wizarding world have no idea about Hermione's scar (or should I say scars) that is of course until she starts Hogwarts that is, that and this Hermione is hardly happy to be stuck in a skirt if you know what I mean. FLEURMIONE – OTP – You no likey then why the heck are you reading this, it ain't worth the flaming when you can just click back, honestly. Oh by the way gonna be based more off the films than the books as the films are easier to remember at the mo, likely to mix them a little here and there though.

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October 1st 1985, the atrium of the Ministry of Magic

The expansive atrium, filled with its usual stampede of ever busy witches and wizards, was for the first time since its construction days, silent. Silent except for the sounds of blood curdling screams of agony and an equally loud cackle of insane laughter. At the centre of the atrium, meters away from the giant golden statue, is where the source of the cackle stood, and the screaming lay. The area surrounding the statue had been given a wide berth by the many people nearest. At the forefront of the crowd stood none other than Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge and several reporters for the daily prophet, including the ever disdainful Rita Skeeter. However not even her crude quill was at work, as her expression matched that of everyone in the room. Every face was marred with a look of absolute terror, and with good reason.

At the centre of the empty ground were four people, or more accurately an enlarged, smoke like projection of four people. The complexity of the patronus charm had never been used for such a crude and brutal purpose. (1) The wisps provided its spectators a clear view of all four figures, much to their horror. The most prominent being the case of the cackling, an eight foot tall version of Bellatrix Lestrange stood before them, her lips spread in her signature insane smile. She stood with her arm outstretched, her wand aimed at the figure nearest her that was currently writhing in agony whilst continuing to wail, as if screaming out the entirety of his lungs would lessen the pain even a fraction. The figure was that of Martin Granger (2), a modest muggle dentist by trade and a loving husband and father by nature. His usually serene face was now twisted into the epitome of agony as the Cruciatus curse lived up to its description, the tears streaming down his face brought even more delight to the psychotic witch that held the instrument of his torture in her hand. A few feet behind the poor man sat the ensnared man's wife and daughter, tears of despair streaming down their faces, unable to look away from the sight of the most important man in their lives writhing like a deranged worm struck by lightning; their sobs inaudible over the man's wailing.

The wiry haired witch let down her wand, causing the man to cease his writhing. However his rattling breaths and twitching limbs betrayed the concept of his pain being instantaneously absent. Now that his screaming had ended, the onlookers were able to distinguish the cries of his wife Jean and their daughter Hermione, as both were immersed in lamenting sobs of "Martin" or "Daddy" over and over. This caused Bellatrix to let a soft chuckle, a most haunting sound considering what the madwoman counted as amusing. She then turned to fix her gaze onto the faces of Dumbledore and Fudge, the latter still wide eyed while the former held her gaze with a look of cold fury, his lips tensed into a thin line in repression of a sneer. Behind his back his arms were still folded together as they had been whilst conversing with the minister earlier as they walked. They had been discussing the outcome of a recent alteration Dumbledore had made regarding towards muggleborn students. The time of which any muggleborn student would be informed of the magical world had been recently lowered. Rather than drop the metaphorical bomb on them the very year their magical education began, the headmaster chose to give the families more than enough of a head start in preparation. When the child turned five years of age, both himself and his ever faithful deputy Minerva McGonagall would visit the family and explain all they needed to know, informing them at this stage would also provide a chance to explain the various occurrences of accidental magic that may have already begun. Both teachers took great joy in this new change as it mean for far less experiences of first year muggleborn that were quaking in their new robes. Now however Dumbledore had to watch as one of those very same children tremble and sob whilst being incarcerated in magical rope.

Hermione Granger had been one of the several students he had visited a year prior, and the one who had plastered a smile on his face for the rest of that day onwards. The girl eyes had been like saucers when he'd begun to explain the reason for the many strange happenings around her. She'd been relived that she wasn't some sort of freak as those at school had called her and also entranced with the prospect of learning anything and everything she could about her new world. Both Martin and Jean had also been very accepting of their daughter being a witch, as this new lease of happiness was a welcomed change to her sad demeanour recently owing to said schoolmates. They'd taken the new revelation in stride, proud and happy of their child's brilliance and never ending thirst for knowledge. It was brutal irony, thought Dumbledore, that now he had to watch that very child shed a fountain of tears as her father lay twitching before her, clad in the same grey shorts and red football shirt as she had when they'd met. Both father and daughter were avid England fans, the shirt being a much loved 5th birthday present.

Amidst the wall of silence, the now six year old Hermione had wriggled to her feet, her torso still wrapped in ropes. The girl tripped and stumbled her way to her father's side before her trembling knees gave out and she slumped forwards onto her father's chest, her heaving sobs of "Daddy, daddy" now muffled against his chest. The sight brought tears to the eyes of many, Dumbledore being an exception, his steely gaze never leaving that of Bellatrix's. Behind his back he shifted his right arm so that his wand slowly slipped out and into his eager hand, allowing him to silently begin a tracking charm on the projection in front of him. As soon as he had their location, he would apparate there quicker than a snitch could fly and stop this madness, madness that had gone on for far too long. For just over a decade the former Slytherin had slaughtered muggles left right and centre, practically since she stepped outside the boundaries of Hogwarts after her seventh year.

Her arranged betrothal to Rodolphus Lestrange had been the last peaceful event in the wizarding world. What followed was an amassing of wizards, witches and creatures of all sorts, all evil at heart, which was when the wizarding world began to understand the grief that the world wars had had on the muggles. Across the globe muggles as well as muggleborn witches and wizards were slaughtered, those who had become respected figures faced a bitter end at the hand of Bellatrix herself. Today it seemed, the deranged pureblood had deemed it necessary for a public demonstration of her 'work'.

Bellatrix briefly returned her gaze to her victims, only to sneer at the weeping child and parents before her, before turning to once again to face her audience, still paralysed to their spots. Her mud brown eyes landed on a petrified Fudge, and her face once again gave way to her eerie smile. Letting out yet another haunting chuckle, she addressed her onlookers with amusement clear in her eyes.

"You see this, Fudge? This" she thrust an arm out in the direction of the Grangers "this is how pathetic the muggle scum are. No better than blind new-born dogs. They have no place amongst our world, no right to hold a wand, no right to even set eyes on a pile of dragon dung. And yet." As she spoke the amusement and insane glee left her eyes, only to be replace with another sneer, her eyes reflecting her madness like a ticking bomb. It was evident that the timer was running close to zero. Her voice resonated through the quiet halls again, its volume growing by the second.

"And yet they're here. They parade through these halls every day, thinking themselves equal with us. The fleas flying with the phoenix, and yet many of you accept this as if it is true, YOUR MINDS TWISTED TO BELIEVE THAT FILTH SUCH AS THEM BELONG IN OUR MIDST!" Her shout caused many to jump in fright, all except Dumbledore, who kept his leer steady as he continued his silent incantation. Bellatrix's eyes had gone wide in mad excitement, her monstrous smile present once more as she soaked up the fear in the room as if it was the very element that kept her breathing. She took a few steadying breathes before once again meting eyes with Dumbledore "Well then" she let loose another ghostly chuckle before she turned to the oblivious Grangers, all three of whom were now huddled together, Martins trembling arms now encasing Jean and Hermione. "I think it's time you all saw how to teach them their place."

In the blink of an eye, Bellatrix had raised her wand. A green flash had sprung forth, and Martin Granger had used the last of his energy to encircle his wife and child before twisting, resulting in his back being completely unprotected against the curse. In that single blink, Hermione Granger had been focused on the erratic but still comforting feel of her father's heartbeat one moment, and now lay squished between her parents, eyes wide; in her panic, panic at the fact that the comforting heartbeat was now gone. Her wide eyes, their odd mixture of chocolate brown and burgundy, filled with the sheen of fresh tears as she let out a choked whisper that somehow was still heard by ministry audience "Daddy?"

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TBC

A/N Phew I finally typed this up, feels so much better than just talking it out with my friend (we'll call her J for now) anyway the usual first fanfic so don't be mean rules apply, we're delicate souls we newbies (just kidding COME AT ME BRO!). Okay so the little number insertions were my little footnotes:

1: The Grangers aren't given any first names, so that areas kind of a free for all really.

2: Apparently Bellatrix in canon is unable to produce a patronus, as she had no memories happy enough to do so. To be put simply this Bellatrix can, as her happy memories consist of the various tortures and murders she's committed, she's that bonkers.

Anyway hopefully I'll have chapter 2 up soon, I've got a week off school so here's hoping for some luck. See ya next time.


	2. Chapter 2, Lamenting rage and scars

Okay, I'm currently a little high from excitement of already getting favourites and follows, so I thought, screw it let's do chappy number 2, who cares about sleeping! Plus not to sound greedy more reviews would be very insightful right now, I need a readers outlook on this to make sure I don't make a fool outta myself, plus I've got no beta reader and I'm nit-picky with missing words so please nag me all you like. Anyway, let's just refresh our memories shall we?

_In the blink of an eye, Bellatrix had raised her wand. A green flash had sprung forth, and Martin Granger had used the last of his energy to encircle his wife and child before twisting, resulting in his back being completely unprotected against the curse. In that single blink, Hermione Granger had been focused on the erratic but still comforting feel of her father's heartbeat one moment, and now lay squished between her parents, eyes wide; in her panic, panic at the fact that the comforting heartbeat was now gone. Her wide eyes, their odd mixture of chocolate brown and burgundy, filled with the sheen of fresh tears as she let out a choked whisper that somehow was still heard by ministry audience "Daddy?"_

"Daddy? Daddy?" the tears once again streamed down the six year olds face, however her whisperings went unheard as Bellatrix once again let out her sinister laugh, the dreaded sound echoing around the black bricked walls. The madwoman continued to exert her bellowing cackle, her head raised high and her chest heaving with the effort. Unbeknownst to Bellatrix, the young Hermione had begun to move. Through vigorous wriggling and shifting, she managed to extradite herself from the limp arms of her parents, her mother remained shell shocked in place at her late husband's side. Hermione forced her tiny, trembling legs to support herself as she took up a confrontational stance in front of her father's corpse, her nest of light brown curls making it impossible to see the majority of her face. The only thing Albus could see was her clenched teeth and shining tears. As the deranged ceased, Bellatrix's gaze now travelled down to land upon Hermione, her eyes unamused at the display of courage.

What happened next, was accidental magic at its most dangerous potential. Hermione suddenly raised her head, her tear filled glare would have normally been considered almost cute, if she had been throwing a tantrum. However Hermione Jean Granger liked to think that she didn't get as angry as other children her age, this occasion being the exception. This time something had snapped. The tiny girl could feel her rage ensnaring her entire being, she wanted to scream, to cry, to strike back at the monster that had sprang out of nowhere and killed her dad.

'She hurt Daddy, she killed Daddy.' The same sentence echoed around her mind. Her tiny fists clenched behind her back, to the point when blood began to drip from her tiny palms, blatantly ignored by the girl they were attached to. Suddenly flames burst forth from nothingness, spreading until they encased Hermione like a form fitting shield; the heat of the flames could be easily felt by the witches and wizards watching, yet they left hot even a singe on her clothes nor hair. Bellatrix's eyes now widened to match the surprise of the others, accidental children's magic had never been known to extend to such extremes before. Then Hermione moved. To Hermione it felt like she was moving in slow motion, to everyone else she moved as if her feet were attached to broomsticks. Letting out an angry wail, she charged forwards, her trainer clad feet stomping against the marble floor before she leapt. Aided by her spurt of magic, her leap propelled her to by face to face with Bellatrix for a split second. The murky brown of Bellatrix met the furious burgundy eyes of Hermione, and in that fraction of a second, Bellatrix was truly fearful for the first time in her life. Before she could comprehend the fact she was even scared, let alone by a mere child, said child's right hand had struck her face with a fire encased punch, the force along with the searing pain of the fire 'kissing her cheek' so to speak sending her to the ground screaming.

This sudden outburst caused many of the onlookers to involuntarily gasp, Rita Skeeter and Fudge being two of them. Dumbledore was still too immersed in his tracking spell to provide a reaction, the sudden spike of underage magic had set of a tiny signal, like a tiny blip on a radar and he was honing in. He just prayed on every vein in Merlin's body that he found them before all three of the Grangers were killed. He once again fixed his gaze upon Hermione as she landed roughly on her hands and knees, out of breath from the exertion that amount of magic had cost her, the aura of flames disappearing again into nothingness. Her sudden battle cry had initiated a reaction from her mother, who had risen to her knees with her wide eyes fixated on her daughter, as shocked as the others by Hermione's outrage.

Once again partial silence reigned, except for the screaming of Bellatrix and Hermione's panting. Minutes went by before both parties had subsided into silence momentarily. Hermione slowly lifted her head, her tired eyes landing on Bellatrix who had sat up at last, shooting a tear filled glare of her own at Hermione; the hate filled gaze merely amplified by the new angry red 2nd degree burn that covered the majority of the witches left cheek.(1)

Then the two women slowly began to move almost in unison. Bellatrix was panting raggedly, in compensation for ceasing to voice the pain being caused by her burn, whilst Jean Granger was slowly shuffling her way towards her daughter on her knees, the action would have looked comical if not for the situation they were currently placed. Hermione, having noticed her mother's approach despite her dazed state, also rose slowly and staggered her way towards her, before going behind her and untying the ropes that bound her. As soon as the ropes came loose Hermione was clasped firmly in her mother's arms, her head resting in the crook of her mother's neck. She was still disorientated but aware enough to return the much needed show of comfort, all be it shakily. Their moment of peace was interrupted however, by the sound of Bellatrix's growl "Filthy little mudblood brat!"

Another flash of green light, and yet again Hermione found herself bearing the brunt of the dead weight of another corpse, only now she found herself gazing into her mother's fear stricken face, her eyes void of the life that once shined there. Hermione barely had the time to emit a loud gasp at the sight in front of her, before her mother's body was flung through the air by a simple wave of Bellatrix's wand; landing with an unceremonious thud near the corpse of her husband. The next thing Hermione knew, she was hovering several inches above the ground, and was once again facing the wiry haired madwoman. Said madwoman yet again had that sinister smirk plastered on her face, the new crimson addition to her face merely adding to its evil bearing. Another flick of the witch's wand saw the beloved football shirt instantly ripped into shreds, causing Hermione to let out a terrified squeal before once again subsiding into trembling sobs. Bellatrix then proceeded to slowly saunter forward, tilting the child's chin up to face her with the tip of her wand; before turning to face her terror-struck audience with a sneer.

"Seems like this little shit needs a permanent reminder eh headmaster? I heard that this one showed the potential to, oh what was it? Ah yes, the potential to surpass the ever prestigious Minerva McGonagall. Well the brats little parlour trick certainly was an oddity, but no matter." She returned her gaze to the wide eyed child before her, resuming her monologue in an overly sweet tone that left many who heard it sick to their stomachs "All the more reason to mark the little lamb here so she knows her proper place, don't' you agree?"

For the first time that evening, the face of Albus Dumbledore matched those of the wizards and witches that surrounded him, if only for a second. It was still a second lost in his efforts of finding the poor child. Quickly reforming his glare of steel, he poured every last drop of his magic into the silent incantation; ever determined to pinpoint the source of the faint traces of magic he'd singled out as a combination of both Bellatrix's and that of Hermione's own burst of accidental magic.

( Okay people you're most definitely going to hate me for what comes next, hell I hate myself for doing this to Hermione, so read on at your own peril and if you must kill me for this, make it quick)

What caused the Albus Dumbledore to publically, let alone visibly display his utter terror you ask? The sight of Bellatrix using her wand as a scalpel to carve the word 'mudblood' into the very flesh of a child's torso, that's what. The screaming that followed the first line of red seeping down Hermione's torso, most likely echoed into the furthest depths of the department of mysteries and beyond; not even the wailing of a choir of banshee could contain as much pain as the high pitched screams emerging uncontrollably from the child's mouth. That first scream seemed to ebb on for eternity, rattling the very bones of many of the wizards and witches whose insides had not forced them to turn their heads away in order to throw up their lunches onto the once spotless floor.

'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Make it stop, make it stop! Mummy, Daddy, MAKE IT STOP!' was the only thought circulating Hermione's mind. Her pain was so agonising that she remained oblivious to her own screaming, her wide eyes couldn't see anything, she could feel nothing other than the pain. Pain that was now spreading across her chest. Bellatrix had been so pleased with her 'handiwork' that she felt compelled to do more. Once she completed the 'D' in mudblood that now read horizontally across Hermione's small chest; she then proceeded to go into a carving frenzy, repeatedly engraving the insult into the girls flesh in random sizes and angles. In less than a few minutes, Bellatrix had carved the word 'mudblood' onto Hermione's front and back so many times that barely an inch of flesh remained untouched on the child's torso. By now Hermione had long since lost the ability to scream, she barely let out a whimper as Bellatrix completed yet another carving of the word. The final carving began on the right side of Hermione's pale neck, just below her jawline and ended at the top of her collarbone.

The murderess, apparently now content, stood back to admire her 'handiwork'. She again emitted her haunting chuckle, fixing her gaze upon Dumbledore and Fudge once more.

"What is it the filth says, Albus?" she paused before raising her wand again at the half conscious, her eyes never leaving the men before her as she added in a sinister whisper "Like lambs to the slaughter". Another flash of green, followed by an explosion, the light so bright it cause many to shield their eyes. Then it disappeared, along with the projection of Bellatrix Lestrange and Hermione Granger. However Dumbledore remained cool and composed, the moment the explosion had occurred, he had finally pinpointed their location, and he could still sense two magical signatures, meaning that the girl had survived. Quickly turning to Fudge he spoke as quickly and clearly as he could, so that his still petrified acquaintance could comprehend his words.

"Cornelius, I've tracked their signal, the child lives. I shall explain more when I return." Then, with speed no one had ever seen before from the elderly headmaster, he sprinted towards the nearest fireplace and vanished in a swarm of green flames, utterly oblivious to the ever reliable quill of Rita Skeeter that was currently scribbling down his exact words.

TBC

Phew, that's this one done. Now I know this was utterly brutal to Hermione, and I shout at myself for being so dark but the story must continue or it'll drive me up the wall not being able to get it out of my head. Unfortunately I've got my A levels coming up, so it's revise, revise, revise for me. Meaning that the next update is unknown even to me, so apologies. Once again I left a little footnote:

1: I know the patronus charm is that blue/silver colour, but please humour me in picturing it as a full colour smokey projection if you will. Now feel free to review, be it death threats or compliments, post them, they'll keep me going. Till next time then, see ya.


	3. Chapter 3, Single truth and new starts

Chapter 3, Single truth and new starts

Right then people I IS BACK TO WRITE MORE MWAHAHAHAH. Ahem sorry don't know where that came from anyway. Agh holy shiznit I hate what I did to Hermione, and I know pretty much everyone else does too but that's just the way things role with this AU. This chapter will hopefully answer any questions you guys may have, I know one guest definitely had a few. Right then onwards we go, as I'm really eager to be less doom and gloom and start bring in in the funny as I think we all love a fair bit of laughter, I know I do. Now I racked my brains on how to write this one but I asked my friend on th bus who's read this (I'll just call her R) which of my two ideas sounded best and she told me so I went with it. Personally it lacks the vibe from the first two but here goes.

September 1st 1991

Albums Dumbledore was seated in his office, once again contemplating the potential wonder every new set of first years provided him with. Seeing the development of young magical minds always made his job more gratifying by the day. Of course there was always the ones that started down the wrong roads an those that grew to stand against them. Such thought caused him to once again to worry and wonder over one Hermione Jean Granger. The young miracle had been a persistent cause for concern for the aging headmaster for five years now. Ever since that night.

_FLASHBACK_

_Dumbledore had traced the magical signal to an empty field near a suburban town on the outskirts of Sutton, almost on the border with Surrey. Upon his visit to the Grangers Hermione had relayed to him about how her family went on daily walks to the fields where she and her dad would play penalties whilst her mother chose to either spectator or join in. She avidly proclaimed that she would one day be captain of the England men's team and 'show the boys how it's done'. Such innocently humorous childhood fantasies are what Albus loved about children the most. Children could make friends in the blink of an eye and said friends could easily turn into life long companions, friends, siblings or even spouses would emerge as results of that crucial moment a child's curiosity of another pulled them together. The memory of his last encounter with the beaming girl was tainted with the sorrowful sight before him._

_The bodies of Martin and Jean had once again been flung across the ground, a result of explosion that had occurred when Bellatrix had tried to slay their beloved child, technically for the third time, as the first two had caused parental instinct or outdo any spell in its power. Dumbledore knew heat had caused the explosion, he knew of the ancient but wonderfully simple magic of love. The love that had driven both parents to cradle their beloved girl in their arms and shield her from that accursed green flash of insidious magic. The love that had protected Hermione from meeting the same fate as her parents. Said parents' bodies were severely burned by the explosive blast, clothes and skin a matching charred coal colour, easily visible despite the smallest presence of light in the current sunset. Tearing his gaze from their remains he examined the large patch of ground that had suffered the same fate as the dentists. Bare, scorched earth lay before him, stretching out at least ten meters in every direction, the only other objects visible were the charred remains of two coats that the Grangers had most likely used to substitute for goalposts and the tiny figure of the scarred six year old. Bellatrix was nowhere to be seen, and Albus had no doubt that the rebounding curse had rendered the madwoman barely more than a ghost left to wonder aimlessly across the country, and he was content to momentarily remove the witch from his thoughts as he hurried towards the epicentre of the explosion where Hermione remained upon the ground._

_Despite being the catalyst for the explosion, the girl remained free of any burns, however her pale skin further amplified the scarlet carvings that marked her tiny body. Dumbledore waved his wand and caught the red shirt and blanket he'd summoned from mid air in his hand as he kneeled at the child's side. He quickly scooped up Hermione and wrapped her in the blanket, hoping to provide even the slightest comfort to the poor girl. For the sake of something to cling to, and as a reminder of her parents love perhaps he had summoned an exact replica of the football shirt Hermione had worn with pride, it would simply not do for the child to remain of clothed under any circumstances. Placing the shirt within a pocket of his lilac robes he then waved his wand again and two silvery whisps shot out of the wand and into the darkening sky in different directions. His patronus' had headed to the quarters of Minerva MacGonigall and Poppy Pomfrey. The former being informed that her aid was desperately needed and the latter being asked to prepare every potion and spell at her disposal and a bed, whilst keeping any other potential patients oblivious to her task._

_Several minutes passed whilst Dumbledore tried to apply what little healing knowledge he had to the various wounds after casting a charm to keep her warm against the increasingly cold evening air. Finally a popping sound signalled the arrival of Minerva, whose buried footsteps quickly came to a halt as she knelt alongside the headmaster and laid her eyes upon the unconscious Hermione, who remained mostly concealed by the blanket. Having already taken in the damage surrounding them Minerva had a clear hunch on the cause._

_"It was her wasn't it Albus? That demented woman is persistent as ever. Wait isn't that" her brows furrowed as the child's face rang the bells of familiarity in her mind. Then she remembered just over a year ago, when they'd been exchanging memories in the pensive of the different children they'd met with regarding their placement at Hogwarts, where she had seen the girls face. _

_"Oh Merlin Albus, is that, is that Hermione Granger? No, oh no." The witches eyes became glossy with images tears, her voice shaking as she comprehended that the girl in Albus' arms was the same lively spirit she'd seen in the pensive. From the moment she'd seen the girls eyes sparkle with wonder at the thought of learning magic, and her later statement as the future football champion, Minerva knew she had another cub inbound for her house and had left for her office with the same big smile that Albus had had upon entering it. Seeing that brave little girl limp as a doll in front of her caused a crack to form in her heart like it was a pane of glass. _

_She was removed from her ever darkening thoughts by Albus' voice, quiet but clear amongst the silence._

_"Minerva, she survived the curse, we have the wonders of ancient magic to thank for that. However" his voice grew steadily more weary, his sorrow at not finding the Grangers quicker beginning to know at his conscience. "However I was too late to prevent Bellatrix from harming her and greatly so at that. I shall show you in the pensive once we have taken care of everything else. I need you to contact both the muggle police and the department of law enforcement, ask for Amelia Bones, make sure the Grangers names remain a secret to the ministry. Once that is accomplished meet me in the hospital wing at the castle." _

_Receiving a grim nod from Minerva, he stood and held Hermione close to his chest, cradled like a new born, before casting a disillusionment charm upon them both and disapparating. Once the headmaster reached the gates of the school, he once again exerted far more speed and athleticism thought possible for a man his age, making it to th hospital wing within record time._

_Upon entering the room he found Madam Pomfrey ready and wiring next to the prepared bed as no other students had managed to land themselves in one the beds so far this term even with quidditch matches being well under way. The matron waved her wand to lock the doors behind him along with casting a silencing spell for extra measures as he set down the child upon the bed. The matron thought it best to ask her questions after treating the child as whenever the Albus Dumbledore sent you an urgent message, then it was of dire importance to listen. Carefully unwrapping the blanket she let out a gasp at the sickening calligraphy etched upon the girls skin, however she quickly set her emotions aside for the moment as she got to work._

_Albus could only watch as Madam Pomfrey tried every potion she had, every possible healing spell in her arsenal before she let out a withered sigh and turned to him with tearful eyes._

_"I've done everything I can Albus, but the curse that did this won't budge. The poor thing will be riddled with these scars for life. The majority of them will fade over time, though they'll never disappear, especially this one." _

_She gestured towards the scar upon Hermione's neck, which even now stood out against the others that had turned the colour of bruised purple, whereas it had remained a dark shade of crimson, looking freshly cut if not for the absence of blood._

_"That one will never fade, none of them will cause her pain for the rest of her life, but they remain nonetheless" she paused a moment to try and compose her shaky voice._

_"Who is this poor, poor girl Albus?"_

_"She's Hermione Granger" answered the tired voice of Minerva as she made her way over to them. Once at the bedside she finally saw the damage that had been done and fresh tears streamed down her face. The professor had to tear her eyes away from the dreadful sight to compose herself once more._

_"Everything's taken care of Albus, Amelia assured me it was all under control. Nobody, niggle nor wizard will link Hermione here to the Grangers that were murdered, it'll simply be a coincidence to them if they ever do find their names." The animagus' words were but a dazed whisper as she once again gazed remorsefully upon Hermione's face, which remained seemingly peaceful, as if the reason for her being unconscious was that she'd simply fallen asleep._

_Taking the shirt out of his pocket, Albus proceeded to gently lift the girl and placed it over her bushy curled hair, guide her arm through the sleeves until she once more was clad in the miniaturized version of the crimson 1984 England football t shirt. Such a familiar sight caused Minerva to give a sad smile amidst her silent tears, before she wordlessly summoned Albus' pensive from his office. It swiftly and silently glided into her hands within moments and she stood before Dumbledore, eyes full of determination to see for herself the horrors that had transpired that night. The headmaster gave a weary sigh before placing his wand at his temple and extracting two memories. Placing the first into he pensive he proceeded to show both women his first encounter with Hermione the year previously. The reviewing only brought more tears to Minerva's eyes as she though of that same little girl lying marred with a degrading racist insult upon her torso. The same thoughts could be said for Madam Pomfrey who shared the same reaction as Minerva at the sight of the beaming child with the burgundy eyes. He then proceeded to show the second memory, one that would most certainly bring them all nightmares for many nights to come. Both women couldn't stop their sobs of anguish at the mere vulgarity of what Bellatrix had done, yet they couldn't avert their eyes no matter how much they wished to. Minerva had even felt a swell of pride when Hermione's accidental magic became her ally for that one brief moment before the madness continued until they once again found themselves in the hospital wing._

_It took them almost ten whole minutes to compose themselves before Hermione began to stir. Thinking fast Madam Pomfrey grabbed a flask of calming draught and brought it to the dazed girls lips as she began to rise in a sleepy stupor. The dazed child drank the potion without issue and soon enough an overly calm six year old was sat in their midst, her eyes betraying the sheer despair she was feeling as her memory of the day returned to her. However she made no attempt to speak of it, as confusion of her current predicament logically overcame her grief whilst the potion induced an unnatural calm rationality to her demeanour._

_"Professor.. Dumbledore? Why are you here?... Where is here?" Her tiny voice was merely a shadow of the once joyful tone they'd just heard in the pensive, which proceeds to further break their hearts in sorrow. Dumbledore went and sat beside Hermione on the bed, gently clasping both of her small hands in his own before he spoke, his tone easily reflecting his remorse of the events that had passed._

_"My dear girl we're at Hogwarts, the very school you'll come to when you turn eleven. You were hurt very badly and Madam Pomfrey is the best witch I know to go to when in need of help with injuries" he gestured to the matron with a small nod of gratitude, causing said matron to wave her hand in dismissal of his compliment despite her sad smile. Turning back to Hermione again he continued._

_"My dear, we cannot tell just how so very sorry we are at what happened. Myself especially, if I had only found you sooner" he gripped her hands firmly as his voice trembled." But it bodes I'll to resort to wishful thinking at times such as this. Now I believe it's time we made sure you at least have the remainder of your childhood in peace, don't you?" Three sets of confused eyes rested on him as he raised his wand in front of Hermione and waved it in a smooth motion of ease, his spell being unspoken. The young girls eyes once again became dazed as the headmaster used his magic to conceal her memories of the nights horrors in a thick fog, impossible to clear unless he wished it so. Grabbing a sleeping draught from the assortment of potions Madam Pomfrey had assembled, he gently put the potion to Hermione's lips and held it as the girl drank every last drop before slowly lowering her slumbering form onto the bed again._

_Rising to his feet once more he faced his fellow teachers, from their expressions he noted that they had not only understood but agreed wholeheartedly with what he had done. Leaving a small child with such ghastly memories would be more torture for the poor girl. They also agreed to use a glamour charm to conceal the scars, concealing any signs that 'the girl who lived' was one Hermione Granger and would do so until the headmaster removed it only on Hermione's say so._

_Then both himself and Minerva met up with Ameila Bones to arrange Hermione's future residence. As the Grangers had no other relatives, Amelia suggested enlisting the help of fellow order member and squib Mrs Arabella Figg, who had been long since helping in the rehousing of orphans, both wizards and muggles alike at the children's home she ran alongside her husband Archibald Figg. The home itself being appropriately names 'Chelsea children's home' after the area of London in which it resided._

_Coming to no other alternative, they unanimously approved of the plan and set it into action. The files on Hermione would simply state that her parents had been murdered and the case had been dropped as there had been no evidence whatsoever to lead to any suspects. Mrs Figg sent them regular updates on Hermione, informing them of her progress over the years, her love of football only increasing as time went on. The red shirt once it was outgrown became like a substitute teddy bear for the girl, who took it everywhere she could. When at school or unable to take it with her to play football she asked Mrs Figg to keep it under lock and key in her office so it was safe from several of the other children had taken the chance to mock Hermione on 'being a big baby' about her prized possession. According to the squib, Hermione remained ever the tomboy, refusing to wear anything even considered the slightest bit girly, and snatched up any hand me down clothes from the older boys that she could in order to avoid the dreaded clothes shopping, preferring to either be immersed in a book or playing football with the other boys who treated her like any other boy seeing as most of the girls preceded their dolls and beads over power rangers or racing cars(1)._

_Whilst Hermione had been living under the watchful eyes of Mr and Mrs Figg, the discarding world had heavily speculated on 'the girl who live' as she'd been dubbed by Rita Skeeter. As promised, no one knew who the girl was, where she bad come from or gone to after Dumbledore had found her. Rita's obsession with digging up the dirt proved to be a formidable source do determination for the obnoxious journalist, resulting in Dumbledore having no choice but to make a statement which he used to keep the smokescreen going._

_"All I have to say is that the girl lives, the poor child still bears the scars of what happened that day as many of you saw. However she is now in a safe place, left in peace and will remain so. But mark my words this is not the last we shall see of Bellatrix Lestrange, far from it and we must remain vigilant in the thought that we must have let our guard down so that such evil shall rise again. That is all."_

_And that was the first and last article written by Rita Skeeter that contained nothing but the truth, as Dumbledore had given her nothing to warp into degrading gossip and lies. The following years saw the capture and imprisonment of many of Bellatrix's followers, who had called themselves deatheaters(2), along with the minister for magics lack of courage causing him and many others to ignore Dumbledore's warning and rebuild the wizarding world in an illusion of peace, a peace that Dumbledore knew wouldn't last._

_End flashback_

Rousing himself from his thoughts, Dumbledore turned his gaze to rest on a clock hanging on the wall opposite him. The time was 10:55 am, precisely five minutes until the Hogwarts express set off from platform 9 3/4 and on its way here. This year however it would be bringing one Hermione Jean Granger to the place where all her questions would undoubtedly be answered.

TBC

A/N okay it's three in the morning on a school night, me need sleep so I'll just do the footnotes:

1: I'm not trying to be overly stereotypical believe me, just remember that this is the 80/90s we're dealing with here, so there's still bound to be the typical boys like blue and cars and girls or pink and dolls mumbo jumbo. I'm just sticking with social view of the time people.

2: I know, using the same name the followers is highly unoriginal but it fits and I'm too tired to try and think of anything else.

Anyway next chapter will see Hermione's first trip to Hogwarts, see ya then amigos.


	4. Chapter 4, The Hogwarts express

Chapter 4 The Hogwarts express

A/N okay people, I admit each review, favourite or follow I get always plasters a shit eating grin on me face. Now to answer a few queries I've been asked and you may have been thinking. Yes Hermione will be sporty, however she won't be on the quidditch team, as she will prefer to be sporty under her own power rather than use a broom. Plus being forcefully levitated will no doubt make you wary of heights even if she can't remember it.

Now I have a question for you guys and girls. I'm obsessed with parkour, and in another hp fic I wanna do my Oc is a parkour nut also, however I really wanna make Hermione just as able in that department, which I'm gonna do mostly anyway. I just can't decide whether to add the parkour in there or just stick to the gymnastics and football, this will kinda be used quite a bit as we progress throughout Hermione's tale, so your reviews are key for this. YOU ARE THE MUSES . Also trying to type using my dodgey kindle fire is a pain in the ass, o please pardon any mistakes, I'll fix them when I can. Also I don't own anything apart from this plotline obviously WHAT BLOODY SITE ARE WE ON FOR GRU'S SAKE!

Also remember this is an AU so expect Ooc Hermione and several others, okay without further ado, let's recap.

_Rousing_ _himself_ _from_ _his_ _thoughts_, _Dumbledore_ _turned_ _his_ _gaze_ _to_ _rest_ _on_ _a clock_ _hanging_ _on_ _the_ _wall_ _opposite_ _him_. _The_ _time_ _was_ _10_:_55_ _am_, _precisely_ _five_ _minutes_ _until_ _the_ _Hogwarts_ _express_ _set_ _off_ _from_ _platform_ 9 3/4 _and_ _on_ _its_ _way_ _here_. _This_ _year_ _however_ _it_ _would_ _be_ _bringing_ _one_ _Hermione_ _Jean_ _Granger_ _to_ _the_ _place_ _where_ _all_ _her_ _questions_ _would_ _undoubtedly_ _be_ _answered_.

10:59 Am, Kings Cross station London

Hermione Granger found herself sat in an at the moment empty compartment, her nose buried in one of her numerous books, seemingly content. Clad in off white trainers, loose jeans and her red hand me down space invaders t shirt, it was highly plausible to mistake her for a boy if not for the bushy brown hair that reached to just below her shoulders. Her brows furrowed somewhat as she tried to keep her gaze focused on her copy of Homers Iliad, trying and failing to re-read it for the third time. She always chastised herself for even glimpsing longingly at the swarm of families trading goodbyes on the platform before her, telling herself that it was time she grew up and stopped dreaming of what ifs. The reality of her situation was like a cannonball lodged in her heart, forcing it to sink several ships of dreams in the harbours. Hermione Granger came to kings cross alone, she boarded the train alone and will most likely spend her time at Hogwarts alone. That single word rang in her head when she had awoken only to be told of her parents deaths, she had gone from being the happiest girl alive to completely and utterly alone.

Of course there were plenty of people around her who also fell into that category, she'd been living in a children's home so that was beyond obvious, however the other children had had each other to confide and find comfort in. Hermione, apparently being the only magical child resident, only had Mrs Figg to turn to for her questions regarding her future at Hogwarts.

Even with her thirst for knowledge being a major factor in many of her questions, the key motive behind the remainder had been to find out as much about the staff as she could, especially the headmaster and his deputy. Hermione, with her eidetic memory could quite easily recall her meeting with the somewhat odd headmaster shortly following her fifth birthday, the man had opened her eyes to a whole new world of wonders that she was dying to discover and learn from. Being the 'freaky bookworm' at school now felt more like a secret badge of honour, feeling as if their petty insults made the other children seem silly.

Of course her newfound joy came crashing down barely over a year later. Even with the knowledge that she'd apparently witnessed her parents murder, Mrs Figg had said that the shock had clouded her memories of the horror, her own mind trying to protect herself. _Utter bollocks _Hermione thought. She didn't curse often but she did have quite the temper, but rather than risk damaging anything to later regret her outburst she opted to express herself through her 'colourful language'.

The reason she disregarded Mrs Figg's statement was that whilst she may have forgotten witnessing her parents neutral murder, she could still somewhat remember what she had felt at the time. From what she could recall the majority had been pain, pure agony in fact and intense, boiling anger that was followed by unbearable grief. And for the life of her, she felt it in her bones that professor Dumbledore was somehow involved, along the stern figure that was professor MacGonnigall.

The emerald robed witch had accompanied Hermione on her trip to Diagon Alley, and despite having never met the woman before, Hermione could've sworn she was familiar. The fact that said woman has not managed to hide the remorseful looks she had been casting her way every so often only added to her belief. However the thoughts had been replaced with the numerous purchases that had made. Her 10 3/4 inch vine with dragon heartstring wand was tucked safely in her jeans pocket, ready and waiting to learn as many spells as possible. The new books had already been read twice over and their contents were stored safely away in her mind awaiting use.

However despite her eagerness to learn, she was determined to get her answers, even if she had to land herself in trouble with the man himself; if anything the young witch was stubborn in her quest for knowledge.

Her musings were stopped by the jostling of the train as it began its departure, she cast one last detached gaze at the waving families on the platform, resigning herself to the fact that none of them were aimed at her. Turning her head to sink her mind back into the ancient literature once again, she pushed her sombre thoughts from her brain. Her relaxing pastime was interrupted again however when three sharp wraps on compartment door caused her to jolt slightly in her seat. Facing the door she nodded her consent in allowing the two boys that had knocked to enter.

The two boys couldn't have looked more different even if they tried. One had a nest of untidy short black hair, rounded glasses and blue/green eyes lad in a simple red jumper and beige trousers. The other had shockingly bright ginger hair and brown eyes, wearing an assortment of faded green and brown clothing, hand me downs she noted, it was easy to tell seeing as she wore the same. She also noticed that both boys had their trunks with them, and judging by the first boys awkward shuffling under her unnerving gaze she proceeded to answer the unspoken question.

""Take a seat by all means. If I can fit my backside in here with room to spare I don't see how it won't fit two more" she offered a small smile and was glad that her little remark had caused both boys to let out a little chortle as they sat themselves down opposite her. A few moments of awkward silence followed before the boy in glasses thrust his hand forward and cleared his throat.

"I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you..." "Hermione Granger" she replied, shaking the offered hand firmly before turning her gaze towards the red head, who quickly realised her intentions and offered his own hand, all be it with a touch of nerves. "Uh, Ron Weasley". After their slightly awkward introductions the the of them began to open up more about themselves. Hermione discovered that due to their parents being long-time friends the boys had known either since their toddler days and that even their family lives were almost as contradictory as their appearances, with Ron being from a large pureblood family and Harry as the only child of pureblood James and muggleborn Lily. The boys in turn learnt of Hermione's life as a muggleborn in the children's home, according why she lived there in the first place in order to prevent any 'I'm sorrys' or pitying looks if she told them off her parents murder. Instead she brought them all onto the topic of sports, eager to share her love of football with Harry and to learn as much as she could about quidditch from the boys, just because the thought of relying on a simple broom to keep you from falling to your doom was hardly appeasing, doesn't mean she couldn't enjoy spectating.

All three could quickly tell that they were becoming fast friends, and Harry bought them all an assortment of treats from the trolly despite Hermione and Ron's protests. Ron settled on his Berty boxes every flavour beans, counting his lucky starts that he'd so far avoided any nasty surprises, whereas Harry grumbled slightly when his chocolate frog committed suicide by jumping out of the window. Hermione's own chocolate frog was about to do the same, it's head poking outside the window. However Hermione managed to slide the window upwards so that the frogs had remained jammed in the gap, it's arms and legs flailing around aimlessly, providing a very amusing sight for the trio. Grabbing the wriggling frog and releasing her hold on the window she smirked at Harry.

"Ever seen Alice in wonderland?" The spectacle wearing boy nodded, somewhat confused as Hermione continued "Remember the Queen of Hearts catchphrase?" Harry pondered the thought for a moment until it dawned on him what she meant, his own smirk forming as he replied. "Off with his head". A split second later the chocolate frogs writhing limbs became limp as Hermione contently ate it's head before commenting "Hmm not bad but Caburys Dairy Milk tastes better in my opinion". Harry chuckled whereas Ron glanced from the headless frog to the smirking Hermione and back again before laughing nervously "Remind me not to ruffle your feathers." The the shared another round of laughter before deciding to get changed, with the boys changing first, however when Hermione allowed them back inside both boys raised their brows in surprise. Hermione was attempting to pull the knee length charcoal skirt over what looked like a pair of black P.E shorts with a large white stripes down either side, once the skirt was in place the shorts were nowhere to be seen and Hermione cast the boys a confused look.

"What?", both boys cast each other a glance before Harry asked "You weren't kidding about hating the uniform were you?" Hermione sighed before answering "No I wasn't. I'd wear the trousers in a heartbeat but there's bullies in every school and I don't want to be the one sticking out like a sore thumb, I've had enough of that already in primary school." Both boys hummed in agreement before Ron tried to lighten the mood "Plus with those shorts on you'll be safe from any embarrassing skirt flurries unlike the other girls." This caused the other two to laugh heartily before Hermione answered " Ron I'm afraid you're starting to come across like some dirty old man, are you sure you're eleven?" They shared one more laugh before assembling their trunks, along with Harry's snowy owl Hedwig before disembarking the train along with the others, following the booming voice of the giant like man that lead them to the boats. As they slowly crossed the lake, the trio finally layed eyes upon the magnificent castle, and for Hermione, the realisation that the answers she sought were now within reach.

TBC

Okay why the hell can I only write at ungodly hours of the morning, for frigs sake it's always nearly 4 am by the time I finish a chapter. Oh well it's too fun to stop. Anyways sorry for the filler like chapter, I promise to start developing the plot soon. So I hope you guys enjoyed it and please respond to my question up top or just any reviews in general, they make me happy people. See ya soon amigos.


	5. Chapter 5, Sorting and squirrels

Chapter 5, Sorting and squirrels

A/N hello once again, now I'm gonna start with thanking everyone for their reviews, they really helped a truck load with future bits and bobs I'm gonna put in later on. Now I should warn you that the sorting is gonna go rather differently, there'll be no changes as to who's in which house, just that I think if I were the hat I'd have been bored shitless waiting for the sorting every year, so of course I'd make the most of my time in the lime light, so without further ado, a recap and then we shall continue once again mwahahahah. O.O again I have no idea where this creepy voice is coming from, honest ;)

* * *

_As_ _they_ _slowly_ _crossed_ _the_ _lake_, _the_ _trio_ _finally_ _layed_ _eyes_ _upon_ _the_ _magnificent_ _castle_, _and_ _for_ _Hermione_, _the_ _realisation_ _that_ _the_ _answers_ _she_ _sought_ _were_ _now_ _within_ _reach_.

* * *

Now stood in front of the grand doors that shielded the great hall from their view, the majority of the first years were fidgeting nervously where they stood, the few exceptions pertaining to Hermione, Harry and a few others. Ron was amongst the shufflers as he had told his new friends on the train, that whilst every Weasley so far had been placed in Gryffindor without fail, his older twin brothers had held the taunt of Ron 'breaking the tradition' over his head for years. Even if he shrugged it off most of the time, he couldn't help but feel anxious. The same apprehension loomed over the pale blond head of one Draco Malfoy, despite his confident expression on the surface his insides felt like a bucket full of worms writhing in a desperate bid for freedom. He glanced at the Weasley boy briefly before fixing his gaze upon he oak doors before him. Personally he disliked the red head already, not because he shared his father's views on pureblood families, far from it. No the reason he disliked, alright was jealous of the Weasleys was because as 'blood traitors' as his father so kindly put it, they had no pressure to uphold the family honour and traditions like he did, they didn't have the looming shadow of stern authority that was his father bearing down upon them. No their family was full of joy as vibrant as their hair, and yet the Weasley in front of him had the gall to be nervous, the cruel irony of it all was cringeworthy in his opinion.

Harry and Hermione however, were just as content on the outside as well as in, both were idly gazing at their surroundings with half interest. Harry had heard much about the castles layout and wonders from the many stories his dad would tell him of his many deviences, the invisibility cloak helping greatly. Said cloak was now safely sealed inside Harry's trunk, practically begging for use. Hermione however was comparing the castles various features with what she'd read Hogwarts a history, so far everything matched down to the letter and as far as houses went, she honestly had no preference. From what she'd read it seemed the history of Slytherin graduates had hardly helped its reputation, she honestly felt somewhat sympathetic towards those whose ambition, which could have been anything from climbing the social ladder to saving lives, landed them in a house branded as the bad egg of the nest. It hardly helped that their emblem resembled the snake from the Garden of Eden tale. Despite her indifference Hermione had a feeling she'd most likely be placed in Ravenclaw, she never liked to brag but she knew she was smarter than most her age, but then she countered with the fact that she felt as if she fit tidbits from all four houses in general, so it was anything goes really.

Her musings were brought to a halt by the return of professor MacGonnigall, who after returning Trevor the toad to an embarrassed Neville Longbottom, led them through the vast oak doors. Upon entry Hermione immediately looked up towards the enchanted ceiling, eager to once again compare the description to reality and was by no means disappointed. However her gazings came to an end when MacGonnigall explained the spring process to them and began calling names.

After the first few sortings all Hermione could think was 'The hell is up with that hat?' The reason for her befuddlememt I hear you ask, well here it is. As every student had the hat placed upon their heads the hat would give an array of odd comments before announcing their house. Upon the sorting of Seamus Finnegan the hat simply snorted in amusement before saying " Well well my boy I dare say you'll have a blast, Gryffindor".

Then came Pansey Parkinson, to which the sorting hat grimaced somewhat before announcing "Slytherin". The process continued until Ron's turn came, the hat gave a hearty laugh before speaking " Another Weasley, I think you know where your heading." The leather grin broadened as he paused for dramatic effect "Slyth-" everyone's eyes widened, even MacGonnigalls "Gryffindor, honestly where else did you think I'd put you boy?" Ron gave a massive sigh of relief as he headed towards the Gryffindor table, sitting near his siblings giving the twins a glare in response to their laughter.

Shortly after Harry joined him, the hat giving another amused chuckle before announcing Gryffindor once again. Then it was Dracos turn. The boy had resigned himself to the fact that he'd be placed in Slytherin without a doubt, if the Weasley situation was anything to go by. Once on his head however the hat frowned before releasing a weary sigh " I'm sorry dear boy but yes you will be placed in Slytherin, but not for the reasons you think." And with that Malfoy trudged along towards the Slytherin table with a scowl on is face.

Clearing her throat professor MacGonnigall cast her gaze down the list once again, coming to a halt she had to take a steadying breath so as not to allow her voice to deviate from its usual tone of authority. "Hermione Granger". At the sound of her name Hermione made her way towards the stool, each step in solid determination. She quickly scanned the teachers table, taking note of both the man with the greasy black hair with the sombre expression, his eyes portraying just as much curiosity as the man next to him clad in a purple turban. For some reason the man was giving her bad vibes, really bad vibes, she half joked with herself with the reasoning that he had god knows what hidden in that turban, hell for all she knew he could have two faces like the head of a lego figure, although the thought of his head being able to spin a whole 360° was hardly appeasing. Joking aside her eyes narrowed minutely in the split second they met with professor Dumbledore's, the man's half moon spectacles failed to veil the odd expression she could see in his eyes, though she had no clue as to what exactly.

Musings aside she took her seat upon the stool and the hat was dropped onto her head, the hat was unusually silent for several tense moments as he sifted through Hermione's head.

"Hmmm let's see, intelligent, very intelligent indeed. Ambitious as well, hard working to the point of stubbornness" "Hey" Hermione grumbled, slightly offended much to the amusement and chuckles of everyone else. So what if she wanted to get things right, being labelled 'clever clogs' meant it was practically part of the job description, how else did she get those full marks over the years, not just academically either mind you. As the hat continued his search through Hermione's head, he continued his little comments.

"Well you're certainly one busy little bee". Another pause "Merlins beard child have you no fear? If I had been you I would've turned tail and ran." This caused another round of soft laughter. "Oho quite the temper as well I see" the hat added in amusement as Hermione frowned slightly, wishing the bloomin' thing would hurry up and tell her which house she was in, all the eyes on her was hardly comforting.

Having heard her thoughts the hat chuckled "Now now dear no need to get worked up, you may not enjoy being the centre of attention but this is the only time of year I'm able to grace this room with my presence" said the hat in a joking manner but then the leather smile turned upside down, as the hat was able to see through the mist created by Dumbledore as if it was childsplay. The hat gasped, and every teacher that had been part of the order knew what the hat had found. Dumbledore had revealed the truths of that fateful day six years ago to his fellow teachers/order members, so that when Hermione herself finally learned the truth of her parents murder and possibly allow the revelation of her scars, then they'd be ready and waiting to help her in any way that could.

The hat let out a shaky breath before continuing "You poor, poor child, how could you have been so brave against such a monster". This caused whisperings and confused glance to exchanged throughout the hall, causing Hermione to feel even more uncomfortable considering she had no clue what the hat was on about. Seeing the girls discomfort, Minerva subtly prodded the tip of the hat with her hand, urging him to put Hermione out of her misery, and thankfully her prodding had the desired effect.

Clearing its non existent throat the hat called out "Well then I'm happy to say that Godric would have been immensely proud of you, GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione let out a sigh of relief as the hat was removed from her head, and headed towards the Gryffindor table that was currently applauding her vigorously. Harry and Ron waved her over, the former moving up slightly to offer her the empty space, which she took happily. The rest of the sorting passed without any further melodramatics on the hats part and everyone else had thankfully shrugged off the oddity that had been Hermione's sorting. Finally after every first year was now at their respected tables, Dumbledore stood up and have them all a warm smile.

"Firstly I would like to say welcome to those of you that have joined us here for the first time, to the rest of you welcome back, I hope that you all find this year as endearing as the last. Secondly I would like to extend a good welcome to our new Defense against the dark arts teacher, professor Quirinus Quirrell" polite applause filled the hall and Hermione raised an eyebrow in amusement as the turban clad man rose from his seat, she half believed Dumbledore had said frivolous squirrel, come on it fit.

"Secondly our caretaker Mr Filtch has asked me to remind you, that the forbidden forest is just that, forbidden. Finally I must inform you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds, for those of you who do not wish to a most painful death, thank you. Let the feast begin."

Soon enough the hall was abuzz with chatter, and Hermione found herself chastising Ron on his eating habits "Really Ron how do you even taste what you're eating if you keep shovelling it down that fast?" Ron tried to retaliate even with his mouth full of chicken, however the trio were made to jump out of their skins when a semi translucent head emerged from whence the tray of roast chicken sat. Seemingly unfazed by their reaction the head proceeded to greet them merrily.

"Hello there, welcome to Gryffindor." The head then began to ascend, thankfully revealing the rest of him, seeing a full bodied ghost was one thing, however a single spectral head floating around on its own, now that would've been odd. Finding the ability to swallow his food at last Ron piped up "I know you, you're nearly headless Nick"

"I prefer Sir Nicolas if you wouldn't mind" both Harry and Hermione shared a confused look before Hermione took it upon herself to ask the burning question in both their heads.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?

"Like this" the ghost then proceeded to show just how much that ruff helped in actually keeping his head on, promptly putting all of them, even Ron off their food. They continued to converse with Ron's older brothers, until Hermione had the nagging feeling of being started at. Casting her gaze to the teachers table she saw professor squirrel, oops Quirrel talking animatedly to the greasy haired man, who appeared to be ignoring his colleague in favour of blatantly staring at Harry with a frown upon his face. However once he locked eyes with Hermione the frown was replaced with an expression Hermione couldn't identify, suddenly Hermione felt a sharp stab of pain on the right side of her neck, just below her jawline causing her to place a hand over it even as the pain quickly simmered and died.

Frowning in confusion Hermione turned to face Percy "Who's that man sitting next to professor squir- Quirrel, all in black?" Pretty also cast the teachers table a quick glance as before answering "Oh that's professor Snape, potions master. He's been after Quirrels job for years but for some reason Dumbledore won't give it to him. Just then Harry decided to pipe up.

"Oh yeah mum said she was friends with him when they were school together. Apparently he was her first friend and that he was actually alright, him and dad never got along though. Which probably means I'm in the dungheap all already."

This caused several confused looks before the twins asked in unison,

"Not that he hasn't got it in for every Gryffindor but what d'ya mean?"

"I'm the spitting image of my dad, if I had mums hair colour I could've probably passed for one of you lot. Anyway I highly doubt I'm gonna enjoy potions this year" he grumbled, even add the others found amusement with the idea of a ginger haired Harry, it wasn't often you'd find hair colour as vibrant as the Weasleys.

They continued to wind away the minutes until the feast ended and Percy instructed all first years to follow him to the Gryffindor tower. On their way they all gazed at the moving portraits and staircases. Hermione could see several ways in which riding the staircases could be improvised to ensure her daily fix of exercise, not that she'd share them with the others of course. It was her only way of enjoying herself app party from reading, fingers crossed the portraits weren't early risers.

Finally arriving at the portrait of the Fat Lady as the twins had informed them Percy spoke the password and led them inside. Arriving in the girls dormitories Hermione and her room mates, the Patil twins found their trunks next to their respective beds. Each of them proceeded to change into their pyjamas, the twins only being mildly curious as to why Hermione had shorts on as well as the skirt. The twins wore matching pyjamas of lilac cotton, whereas Hermione wore her hand me down grey shorts and a navy and grey teenage mutant ninja turtles long sleeve top. Whilst the other two weren't liking Hermione retrieved her long outgrown England t shirt from her trunk and his it beneath her pillow, before wishing the twins goodnight and falling asleep, her dreams changing between planning her alternative use of the moving staircases and the haunting sounds of cackling laughter followed by a green flash.

TBC

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Whew fine, this took me the entire weekend to do, highly unusual setting as I've so far named to do each of the previous ones in one night each, for being a day late I apologize. Also I need to rewatch the film before I can go on, I haven't seen it in donkeys years so I need to see which bits I'll keep or change. So hopefully by Sunday I'll have chapter 6 done. Next time we get to see a little bit of parkour Hermione I'm happy to say, and also the start of the changes I made regarding malfoy.

On another note if anyone is willing to try, I listened to the music box song from elfen lied on loop whilst I wrote chapter 3, a mixture of blue stahli songs for chapter 1 and the attack on port royal song from the curse of the black pearl soundtrack for this one, dunno why just thought I'd share. See ya soon amigos.


	6. Chapter 6, Fun, flying and football pt1

Chapter 6, Fun, flying and football, pt 1

**A/N Hello there, long time no see. Deepest apologies for my absence but I'm sure everyone knows the horrors of exams and the stress and frustration they cause when coupled with long term writers block. I've gone back over the previous chapters and fixed everything I found wrong with them.**

**SHOUT OUT to aryalyn for pointing out my spelling error for McGonagall. Thanks a bunch for that, I face palmed myself when I saw the amount of errors in the previous chapters. All be it some of them weren't done by me but I still failed to notice them. Typing on a tablet with a dodgey keyboard is hell. Using an actual computer feels much better I have to admit. **

**NOW THEN, back to the story and PARKOUR time, although it'll only be in tidbits at the moment, as athletic as Hermione may be she is still only eleven going on twelve, don't expect much so far apart from several vaults and wall clings. If any of you don't know some of the trick names I will use in future there is a parkour wiki page that lists numerous tricks which are on You Tube as well. There is also the game Vector which I play on my phone that uses parkour moves. I will try to write it so the moves are understandable but no promises it'll work. Now without further ado, enjoy. **

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Hermione woke with a start, slightly out of breath and staring wide eyed at the ceiling above her. Unlike what she had predicted before she fell asleep, her dreams were hardly filled with thoughts of monkey vaults off moving stairs or wall clings followed by cartwheels and improvised martial arts moves she'd picked up from her after school karate club. Her usual peaceful night's sleep had been substituted for the echoing sounds of screams. First a mans, then a woman's, then a small child's before all of them were eclipsed by raucous cackling high pitched laughter and a green flash.

Shaking her head in an attempt to rid her mind of her night's terror Hermione sat up and glanced around the room. Judging by the four sets of soft, deep breathing being emitted from the other beds, it was clear to her that she was the only one awake. Looking out the window she saw the early signs of daylight through the diamond shaped panes, meaning that it was sometime between roughly 4 and 6 in the morning. Plenty of time in Hermione's opinion to formulate a layout of places to practice, she just clung to her earlier hope that the portraits liked their beauty sleep.

As quietly as she could she got out of bed and opened her trunk, grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom; emerging a minute later clad in an old pair of black shorts that were slightly too big for her and a somewhat oversized grey t-shirt and off white trainers. She then managed to tame her mane of bushy curls into a simple ponytail that kept the curls from getting in her face, before leaving the dormitory room and exiting the common room as quietly as she could muster.

She crept down the hallways and staircases, thanking whatever deity she could think of that the stairs seemed to only persist in creating a maze for the students during the hours of daylight. Finally she came to the last few sets of stairs that connected to the entrance to the great hall.

Taking a look over the balustrade to judge the distance should she fall, she decided to play it safe and went down one more set of stairs. She didn't want to have explain how she got herself injured on the first day before even attending a single class, that would be downright humiliating. Making sure she hadn't any leftover kinks in her from sleeping she climbed over the balustrade and perched her toes on the edge before glancing over her shoulder to the one below her by just over a metre.

Counting down in her head she mentally prepped herself for every possibility of getting a very sore arse if she missed.3...2...1...GO. Using her legs she jumped up whilst simultaneously twisting to coincide with the fact that her jump resulted in her heading in the direction of her target. In what felt like both slow motion yet happening in a split second, her outstretched arms clamped down upon the balustrade below her alongside her feet finding their own place upon the bottom section of the railing.

Smiling at the fact that so far it was going well she looked at the last balustrade situated below her and repeated her successful wall cling yet again before letting herself dropping to the floor. She then caught sight of the large entrance doors that were thankfully open, giving Hermione a clear view of the courtyard in front of her. Spying several benches surrounding the fountain in the centre, she took off with a smile on her face. Taking a run up she proceeded to monkey vault over each one the first time round to get adjusted to her new 'playground'. the second time round she opted for the slightly different Kong vault, resulting in her taking more a diving motion over the bench than the previous vault .

She then decided to opt for a few simple cartwheels, a handstand here and there before simply jumping from one ledge of the fountain to the other in order to gauge the distance she'd need for when she'd eventually try a double Kong on it. Not that morning as she wanted to get in more practice in her new environment before going beyond any simple vaults. After another two laps of Kong vaults over the benches she paused for a moment just to stretch her limbs before getting into a kata stance, facing forward with her left leg bent slightly in front and her right behind at a more upright angle. She was far from being anywhere near a black belt, she'd only gone to those afterschool karate lessons for two years but had managed to get four belts to her name before she left primary school. She began slowly going through the various motions, getting steadily faster in her pace.

**'**_**Left arm guard down, right arm punch. Bring the left arm back up, twist to guard up, then bring back to side whilst punching again with the right. Now the opposite. Then bring up left arm to guard from the middle, then use it to aim for the jaw area, then punch with the right. Opposite again. Great now the legs. Arms up to defend, bring left leg up in front then kick ahead when at shin height, then stomach height, then head height. Now the same with the right. Now left leg up then kick to the side whilst letting left arm also go out to act as guard before bringing leg back. Now the right .Now behind, bring leg up before turning body slightly and looking behind whilst kicking and using the same side arm to guard like the side kick. Now the opposite leg. Good now do all three kicks in one movement without having to put my foot back down on the floor. Whoa, don't wobble, okay got it. Right, now a few roundhouse kicks off both legs, ow stretched too far on that one.'**_

Taking a look at the ever brightening sky Hermione decided it was time for a few warm down stretches before heading back upstairs so she could nab the shower before the other girls woke up. She then proceeded to do some more stretches before removing her trainers in order to partake in a stretching exercise that her sensei had made the class undertake on numerous occasions much to their despair, Hermione's included.

Standing with her legs shoulders width apart she then bent her legs so that she looked like she was somewhat imitating a sumo with their feet facing outwards. She then placed a shoe on each thigh, keeping her back straight as she could and her hands in the middle. This exercise really did a number on the thighs, but Hermione reckoned they were taught it for a reason, so she might as well keep doing it, all be it grudgingly.

She counted to twenty in her head before the burn was reaching beyond comfortable levels, and she held out another ten before deciding her legs had had enough extracurricular exercise for that morning. Groaning slightly, Hermione put her shoes back on before ascending the stairs in a slow pace before trotting up them at jogging speed. A little more legwork would be good for her anyways. She'd need the muscles if she planned to do far more than simple vaults over benches. And by god she did have plans. The fountain was only the beginning.

By the time the other girls had awoken, Hermione had returned, showered and was part way through putting her uniform on. Her shirt buttoned up, her tie perfectly in place around her collar, and her shorts wrinkle free. Needless to say the shorts gained a few double takes from her drowsy roommates, the majority of them just shrugged it off; if Hermione wanted to wear them it was her choice and they felt no need to inquire further. However the majority excluded Lavender.

**"Hermione, why are you wearing those? You could just wear tights under the skirt you know if you're worried about the odd skirt flurry."**

Hermione paused in her process of concealing her shorts with her skirt, casting Lavender a look that showed that she was expecting these sorts of questions.

**"Personally I find tights to exactly that. Tight, they itch and don't feel comfy and would be a pain to wash if dirty. Plus I never liked them anyway. Now shorts I like. They're comfy, they don't itch and oddly enough even though I'm not worried about 'skirt flurries' as you put it, they'd probably do a damn better job than a pair of flimsy see through tights. That and if I think about I can just pretend I'm wearing a kilt instead so technically I'm still wearing what a bloke would. I think next year I'm going for the trousers, a likely outcome I think giving how flimsy these things are. Basically I just don't like this skirt. Or any skirts for that matter. Happy now?"**

**"Um yes." **

Replied a slightly stunned Lavender, she didn't quite expect the beginnings of a rant when she asked her question, but then again she got her answer. The others simply cast each other a look that said 'Meh, I'm not fussed, you?' 'Nope' before they all headed down to the common room, where Hermione promptly joined Harry and Ron before the trio set off for breakfast; where once again Hermione scolded Ron's table manners.

**"Honestly Ron, the egg isn't suddenly going to turn into a fully grown chicken and leg it like Harry's chocolate frog did, so slow it down and bloody chew the damn thing, not just shovel it into your gob like coal on a steam train." **

Said Weasley just shrugged before continuing to devour his scrambled eggs on toast, causing Hermione's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance and a frown to mar her face before she turned back to the newspaper Harry had passed her that had come in the morning post. Apparently somebody had broken into Gringotts and not stolen a single thing because the vault in question had been emptied the same day.

_**'Well there's a first time for everything. Good thing the bugger who owned the vault emptied it, lucky as hell they did it not a moment too soon either. Oh well always going to be loopholes in magic somewhere, even goblin magic I guess.'**_

Breakfast went on without fuss and soon enough the trio were seated in their first ever class, potions with the Slytherins much Harry's dismay. He immediately sat down at the desk furthest from the front alongside the other two, who weren't fussed where they sat. Almost imminently following their seating the form of Severus Snape and his billowing black robes sped past them to the front of the class, his sudden entrance coupled with his sneer imposing silence upon the entire class. The greasy haired man cast his gaze over the entire class slowly like some sort of tiny eyed owl.

His eyes landed on Hermione, and his gaze lingered as he thought about what he'd been informed of by the headmaster. If this scrawny looking girl was going to be on the receiving end of Bellatrix's wrath when she returned (and he meant when, both he and Dumbledore were sure the mad woman wasn't gone by a long shot). Then the little bushy haired brat needed tough skin, an emotional backbone to come in handy for the trials ahead he assured himself; if maybe to spite another Gryffindor. He'd get James' clone another time, it was hard to miss the boy when he was sitting next to her.

**"You there, the girl next to Potter. Your name"**

Everyone's head turned to face the trio at the back, who currently all looked like dears in front of headlights. Hermione however quickly composed herself before answering calmly.

_**'Too many bloody eyes on me.'**_

**"Hermione Granger sir"**

Everyone turned to face Snape again as he contemplated what questions to confront the muggleborn with first, with Pansy Parkinson taking a bit longer than the others as she cast a sneer towards the three Gryffindor's that went unnoticed with the exception of Draco who had the misfortune to be sat next to her.

**"Miss Granger tell me what will I get if I add Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"**

Now Snape having no knowledge of Hermione's smarts, was expecting the girl to offer a quiet 'I don't know sir' and he'd carry on to hammer the nail in further. Of course, one must learn to expect the unexpected.

**"They make sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. Sir"**

This caused the raise of a single eyebrow upon Snape's ever gloomy face, whilst Hermione was glad she'd chosen to sit on her hands to stop it from flying into the air in a furious bid to answer the question even though it was directed at her. She couldn't help it, it was instinct after the entirety of primary school being spent with teachers constantly reminding the class to raise their hands if they wished to answer a question. However instinct also told her not to in the case of this teacher, who seemed to have another question for her.

**"Miss Granger where would you look if I tell you to find me a Bezoar?"**

**"A Bezoar is a stone, taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from the most poisons. Sir."**

The eyebrow rose slightly higher and the tension in the room with it.

**"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"**

_**'I've got you now Granger. The girl may be smart but surely even she hasn't gotten that far ahead in the-'**_

**"Nothing. They are the same plant which also goes by the name of Aconite. Sir"**

_**'Damn. I stand corrected. Not too shabby Granger, but I have a reputation to uphold and I don't plan on you unintentionally ruining it.'**_

**"All correct. In fact that was almost word for word from the textbook. It seems Miss Granger here has all the answers. Five points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."**

Hermione just rolled her eyes when Snape turned his back and sent him a tiny scowl.

_**'Guh, rude much? I got them all right, the least he could do even if he hates Gryffindor's is not give or take any points from us sheesh. And know-it-all? Really? That's the best he could come up with. But then again he**_** is**_** still a teacher, so he can't insult us that badly. Whoop de doo. '**_

Thankfully the class continued without incident, apart from Seamus causing his cauldron to blow up in his face due to adding the wrong ingredient, at least now they knew what the hat meant about him 'having a blast'. Sadly this earned another -10 points for Gryffindor before the bell signalled their freedom from his classroom.

Transfiguration had begun with the shock of Professor McGonagall revealing her ability as an animagus; although Harry was far from being as shocked as the others seeing as his father and godfather had taken to gallivanting about in their own respected animal forms on more than one occasion in his presence. Hermione had been able to win back their last house points with her performance and had left with a content smile on her face that unknowingly caused a much smaller one upon the older witches face.

Herbology passed by pleasantly alongside their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Where once again Hermione couldn't help but compare Professor Quirrell to a squirrel by his twitching alone, and also the guilty pleasure at imagining how many snooker balls would fit in his turban.

Lunch provided the trio with a much needed break and once again Ron stuffed himself like a turkey at Christmas whilst Hermione once again tried to remind him how to eat properly and failing, much to Harry's amusement. The following charms lesson was easily likable. However the three entered the common room following their last lesson, History of Magic, feeling like zombies.

**"Holy crap. Who on earth thought it'd be a good idea to keep the man around to teach even after he'd kicked the bucket? I swear he's teaches like that just so the rest of us will die of boredom and transfer our life force to him so he can live again or something."** Grumbled Hermione as she all but collapsed into an armchair.

**"I agree" **mumbled Harry from his own armchair. Ron remain unresponsive sprawled upon the sofa in front of the fireplace. His state only seemed to concur with what the other two had thought. Professor Binns was like a ghost and vampire in one. Like a leech he'd drain you dry of life with his monotone of never ending talk of the beginnings of the Goblin rebellions. Heck he hadn't even finished introducing the first of ten Goblin rebellion leaders by the time the bell had rung.

Somehow the trio found some leftover strength to drag themselves down to dinner, where Ron was too tired to even try to inhale his food again and Hermione was too tire to care. They trudged back up to the dormitory and wordlessly bid each other good night before heading for their already beloved beds, barely having the energy to change into their pyjamas before collapsing onto their pillows, Hermione even begrudging herself a day off waking up early the next morning, as mercifully they didn't have to endure History of Magic again for another two days.

TBC

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**A/N Hello there, for fucks sake I started this at 8pm, it's 3:15 am now, why do I take so fucking long. arrgh. Plus internet crashed so I couldn't post this until now, grrrr. Trying to sleep at 4 am whilst being pissed off is hard.**

**Anyway here we go, chapter 6 at long last. Now about the karate thing. I did Kempo Karate for around two years a few years back, and I got to the 4th belt, however despite remembering what the moves look like I can't for the life of me remember the name our sensei gave them, so forgive the lapse in memory. Also the shoe balance thing is a true story.**

**Again please remember it's an AU so expect OOC characters, e.g a not so sour Snape= Lily didn't die. Now coming up is the flying lesson and whilst i plan to tweak it somewhat I'm still figuring bits out so hang in there.**

**Now PLEASE REVIEW, SAY WHAT YOU LIKED AND DIDN'T LIKE. I NEED TO KNOW!**


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